I think Duclair has had opportunities to play himself out of his funk. He's also deserved to sit for giving up on plays. If work ethic was there he wouldn't sit at all. I don't think this is solely on DT.
He doesn't put in any less effort than, say, Vrbata. The 'effort' thing is ********. Working hard isn't working smart. He will never be a guy that dumps it into the corner and then goes and gets it. Most skill guys won't play that way. If that's the bar then just spare him the misery and trade him for another grinder right now. Some other coach can play him to his strengths and get the reward.
If Duclair was producing, we're not even having this conversation. Nothing has changed significantly about his game except his confidence level and the play of those around him. One of the worst offenses and defenses in the league, with practically zero chemistry and consistency with the lines. There was no hot start this year, just straight into the ****ter. The only player producing at a high rate (DeAngelo) got sent down for his efforts. Everybody else is meeting expectations or lagging badly. That, my friend, is solely on DT at this point.
Duclair is a classic case of a coach getting in a player's head in a bad way and riding him into the proverbial ground. He's averaging 13 minutes, only the 4th line is getting less. He's getting a full minute twenty less PP time. What type of player do you expect Duclair to be? He took that first penalty trying to chip it by the guy and break the other way. A skill play. Would you prefer a panic clear, even an icing? Do we want to watch a team play increasingly bad neanderthal hockey with no results? So the Flames player went down like someone shot him, not a big deal. Live and learn.
But because this team is absolutely awful right now and the coach needs a scapegoat, he immediately starts punishing Duclair on a play that started off a turnover from another player. This after scratching him and trying to get him back into the right mindset. Anyone can punish. Where's the coaching? Where's the motivation? The promised patience? Other organizations have figured this out, why can't the Coyotes? The old school "here's the bar, now clear it" crap is great if you're running a call center. This is a (mostly) professional hockey team that needs to cultivate and maximize what little talent it has. If it can't do that, it can't survive.
DT hasn't coaxed much out of players and hasn't for some years now. I know you love the "there's a lot of young players here" excuse but he's having the same diminishing returns with veteran players. DT's effectiveness has dropped like a rock in recent years as a result. Ignore it if you want, but the dwindling attendance suggests the organization can't do so forever.
